To say that Tom was not a fan of Deanie’s is an understatement. One of his favorite stories about the place involved a conversation he overheard at an adjacent table. One guy said to the other, “ Dis is da woist fried seafood I ever ate!” His companion replied, "Yeah, but day sure do give you a lot of it.”
For that reason I only went to Deanie’s once with him in the early days, and once on Magazine St. in the later days. (He had to go because I was driving.)
Yesterday I went to a fundraiser luncheon with some people I like whose company I always enjoy, so I went despite the location. I hadn’t been to Deanie’s in Bucktown since the renovation, and the place is so off my radar that I couldn’t even tell you when that was. They have separated the space into a market and an eatery, so it has a different entrance. Inside, it’s a typical nondescript fried seafood house in N’Awilins.
Oversized glasses of beer were filled and refilled as we stood chatting. Finally we sat to eat. Platters of fried onion rings were brought to the tables. I was relieved to see that “fried seafood platter” in the email invite did not mean individual fried seafood platter. I am not too familiar with Deanie’s operations, but I have heard that there is a big fried seafood platter and a gargantuan one.
Two of the latter arrived at our table of six to be shared. And we had one platter of onion rings for the table. Another singular platter of fried pork chops was delivered as well.
The onion rings were large rings, but they were golden brown and greaseless. They were crispy as well. These were quickly devoured.
What I noticed about the two seafood platters was that even though both were equally stacked in a way that defied gravity, the catfish on one was distinctly darker than
the catfish on the other.
What was also curious about these platters was how uninterested everyone was in eating them. We had tons of food left over. There were two small softshell crabs layered on top, and only three were eaten. No one seemed interested in the fried catfish, the second-tier layer. (I thought I was the only one who didn't eat fried catfish!)
Underneath, the catfish, oysters, and shrimp were buried, and crab patties flanked each side of this pile. A lot of fries soaked up all the grease beneath, and that’s too bad, because Deanie’s does not buy the cheapest frozen fries out there. These would have been good if they hadn't been sponges for the collective grease from the mound of seafood.
Somewhere in the midst of the conversation, I noticed that everyone at the table was doing the same thing I was doing. We were all eating only the fried shrimp. And some of the fried oysters, which were the perfect size for me (small.) But I feel that guys prefer big oysters, so maybe that accounted for their lack of enthusiasm. There was no enthusiasm for any of it, other than the fried shrimp and the fried onion rings, which were nice and the proper color,
All the other fried seafood here held grease. Either Deanie’s has not gotten the memo that today’s fried seafood is almost always crispy and greaseless and golden brown, or the customers of Deanie’s have not noticed this. Maybe because Deanie’s is their place? Either way, the Deanie’s fried seafood resembles the fried seafood from the old West End. And that style is as distant a memory now as the old West End. Somehow or another, kitchens have gotten far more skilled at frying. Deanie's was an anomaly. And not a welcome one.
I liked the fried pork chops rather well. They had an interesting flavor that was kind of an island flavor. They were thin and tasty.
Bread pudding came as part of this deal, and not many of those were claimed either.
I often say on The Food Show (airs 2-4pm weekdays on WGSO 990AM) that if we all wanted the same spouse, job, or house, it would be a boring world. I will let the Deanie’s regulars fill up Deanie’s every time, and I’ll have my occasional fried seafood at any number of places that serve the greaseless variety.
But my big takeaway from this event was: all these years later, that original conversation that so tickled Tom still applies at Deanie’s. To each his own.